Lights! Camera! Action! Finding Movie Reviews
1. Library Catalog - Find Books, Media and Pamphlets
- Film Genre Studies
- Use the library catalog to check for books on film genres
Examples: subject search: horror
Or subject search: film noir
Or check these titles:
Check subject index under name of genre or subject, e.g. “Gangsters.”REF 791.437 M 3 Magill’s Survey of Cinema, 1927-
REF 791.437 M 3-5 Magill’s Cinema Annual. Check subject Index
[Top of Page]
2. Reference Books
When was the movie released? To find a movie review you need to know the release date. Check these sources by movie title to find out when the movie was released.
REF 791.4303 H 1-2 Halliwell's Film, Video & DVD Guide
REF 791.437 M 3 Magill's Survey of Cinema (includes films from 1902-1981)
REF 791.437 M 3-5 Magill’s Cinema Annual. 1981-present
Check these sources to read complete reviews:
REF 791.4375 V 3 Variety’s Film Reviews -present Cumulative title index to Vols. 1-15 ( 1907-1980) in Vol. 16 Each annual volume indexed separately thereafter
REF 791.437 N 1 New York Times Film Review 1913-2000 Facsimile reprints of the reviews printed in the New York Times . Look for index in “Appendix volume” and at end of each volume beginning 1969-70.
REF 791.4303 N 1 The Motion Picture Guide (1927-1999) Signed reviews by editorial staff of the Guide.
For print reviews of movies released before 1986: use the sources below to find article citations, then look in 2nd floor periodical stacks, 3rd floor bound periodicals or 1st floor microfilm cabinets.
REF 016.05 R 1-2 Readers’ Guide to Periodical Literature. (1900-present)
An index to popular magazines and the New York Times newspaper in print format.
Movie titles under subject heading: “Moving picture plays-Criticism, plots, etc." or 1977- movie titles under “Motion picture reviews-Single work.”
REF 791.43016 F2 Film Review Index [1882-1985].
Provides citations to sources where films are reviewed.
REF 791.437 M 3 Magill's Survey of Cinema. 1902-present
This series is best for plot summaries but it also includes citations to movie reviews in other sources.
Use these reference books to identify Oscar and other award winners:
REF 791.4303 H 1 Halliwell's Film, Video & DVD Guide. (2006)
Covers films released between 1927-2004. Use the list “Academy Award Winners” at the end of the guide.
REF 791.43079 O 2 Movie Awards: the Ultimate, Unofficial Guide to the Oscars, Golden Globes, Critics, Guild, & Indie Honors.
Covers films released from 1927-1999.
[Top of Page]
3. Databases and Indexes - Find Articles
- Use Proquest Direct, a database of periodical articles, to find movie reviews from the Los Angeles Times, Time magazine, etc. for films released after 1986... search movie title, such as "Apocolypse Now" or use Advanced search and Document type (film review) example: at(movie review or film review) AND "Apocolypse Now"
4. Resources on the World Wide Web
Finding reliable information on the web can be difficult.
Use the Librarians' Index to the Internet www.lii.org or see recommended websites below.
- MRQE: Movie Review Query Engine
- http://www.mrqe.com Covers films from early 1900s-present. Links to external film reviews (opens new browser window.)
- IMDb: Internet Movie Database
- http://wwww.us.imdb.com Covers films from the early 1900s -present. Plot summaries, cast overview, viewer comments, genre links. Search for film title, select "external reviews" (left menu).
- Academy Award Winners
- www.filmsite.org/oscars.html Covers films released from 1927-present. Shows Oscar winners by decade and specific year (not searchable by movie title or Oscar category).
- Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
- www.oscars.org A database of all the Academy Awards ever given. Covers films from 1927-present. Search by movie title, nominee, award category, song title or award year(s).
[Top of Page]
last updated: 06/02/2009 by P. Johnson revision #1
